take eight.

How do I relate to faith? How did Don Richardson relate to faith? How do the Sawi relate to faith?

"What doesn't kill me only makes me stronger." Frederich Nietzesche, a nihilist philosopher, quoted these words in his book, Twilight of the Idols, and it still rings in our ears today. Kanye West, one of the world's most famous black rappers, even made a song, "Stronger", following after this quote. I absolutely love this quote. It helps me to get through the rough times in life and more importantly, I think it can be related to faith because faith is what drives people to persevere.

Don Richardson had no clue what was awaiting him and his family in the unknown jungle forests of Papa New Guinea. It was all-in thing. He was taking on a new journey and leaving all he had known until now, behind. And it was worth sacrificing all for because God had planned everything out. Don Richardson didn't know how the Sawi were going to accept his message to them, but God did, and he trusted that.

In the Peace Child, the Sawi are the ones who are radically changed through faith. They learn to cling to a new kind of hope-an everlasting faith in God. All along, they would have to sacrifice children in order to make peace between their tribe and the other. Really, this is something that's easier said than done. How could a mother wipe away the existence of her own child, whom she carried in her womb and nurtured all along? But, instead of being ignorant to this custom, Don Richardson took this tradition into consideration. He used this concept to teach the Sawi about Jesus Christ. Jesus was the ultimate peace child that paid the price for all our sins. All Don Richardson had to hold on to was faith, and in the end, faith prevailed against all the stumbling blocks along the way. The Sawi realized how wretched their lives were before they met God, and they then had a new, profound faith to cling to. Faith is the basis of everything. Everything else stems from that.

During the process of these blog postings, I feel that I have tackled alot of questions related to faith. I didn't know why at first, but now, I clearly see the reason why. Faith is the ultimate factor that drives me to keep pressing on. Like everyone, sometimes, I get lost. I fail. I stumble. But still, I get back up. God always gives me a second chance. And it is through the hardships that my character grows because I know that after the toiling process is over, I will look back through those times of tears and sweat I poured out, thinking to myself, 'I made it.' Maybe this is why I love challenges so much. In the end, I have something good to feel about myself. Romans 5:3-4 always encourages me when I feel drained.

"Not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings, because suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."

All my life, I've been surrounded by a Christian environment. Christian family. Christian friends. Christian education. Church every Sunday. Spiritual retreats. When I was young, I took comfort in this because it was like my personal shield from any "bad stuff" of the world. I felt secure in such an environment. However, as I am growing older, I sometimes want to escape from such "Christian" things and people. I feel like it's asphyxiating me at times. Instead of regarding Christianity as a blessing, I feel like it's a burden weighing me down from doing anything in this world, because whatever I want to do will be considered a "sin."

Gandhi said, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." This statement totally shifted my perspective. All my life, I had taken comfort in the Christian environment surrounding me, relying upon that and nothing else. I had no personal faith in or knowledge about God, except of the weekly Sunday preachings. I had built a faith not on God, but a faith built upon other Christians. However, that type of faith will fall apart, like it is now, because man is imperfect. Maybe that's the reason why I feel so lost right now. Maybe that's the reason why I see my religion as a burden to me, rather than a blessing. All along, it hasn't been a 'personal' faith, but a faith shaped by influences of others. In other words, a faith that I have yet not experienced. I know it's there somewhere. I know it's real too. I just have to find out what it is for myself. So that's why maybe it's time for me start my own journey of faith.

I still feel like I'm swimming through a vast ocean of 'nothingness'. It's an ocean filled with emptiness. But I know I'll find my own path sometime, sooner or later. So, in the meantime...

take seven.

How different is your modern culture from the sawi tenants?

When I first read this question, I thought to myself, 'Well, isn't the answer so obvious? We're not monsters like them. We don't kill and eat each other.' True: we don't eat each other. False: we aren't monsters. In our world today, people may not hunt each other's heads and eat one another's flesh physcially, but they are still the same monsters that destroy one another mentally and emotionally. As I said before in a previous blog post, we're not any different from the Sawi, and in fact, we may even be more "unicivilized" than they are. Our advanced knowledge in technology is the only asset that serves as a distinct separation from them. Modern Korean culture is shattered politically, socially, and in so many other ways, that it is ambiguous in where to start picking up the pieces, and putting it back together.
The Korean media industry tells women that they need to have the perfect eyes, the perfect skin, the perfect body, and the perfect everything in order to be accepted into society. And the result of this? The plastic surgery rates have soared unimaginably. Teenage girls suffer from depression because of their lack of self-esteem towards their appearance. In any street in Korea, you can spot at least one plastic surgery clinic other than the billions on the next street. Korean girls undergo plastic surgery to make their eyes bigger, their nose higher, or their face smaller because the media is telling them that this is true beauty. The media is seeping in through the cracks of insecurity and inferiority of the public, making them feel worthless and vulnerable.

"Doesn't she look pretty? everyone said. Consummation at last. To every woman a happy ending." (Barbie Doll- Marge Piercy).

People may think that all problems stem from the media, but this is not so. There are unimaginable catastrophes rising from the churches of Korea that are causing them to fall apart. I remember the most shocking story I heard on the news about a Korean pastor sexually abusing a little girl in the church. After hearing this, I wouldn't blame non-Christians and people of other religious groups patronizing Christians for hypocrisy. The church is the body of Christ, yet it is becoming smudged with the dirty hands of mankind, greased with sin. Even Christians, who are supposed to be righteous and holy, reflecting qualities of God, have become labeled as hypocrites and liars. So, who in this world is there to look up to?
And what's more, Korea's government is coming to a downfall. Everytime I watch the Korean news, I see politicians shouting at each other in court rooms, female government officials tearing away at each other's hair, and all sorts of violence emerging among the government administration. The government has so many issues internally that it's no wonder that the Korean nation is deteriorating.
The problems within the Korean culture are endless and there are still more to come; however, our world itself has infinitely many problems being generated. I see our spherical Earth like a soccer ball tainted with mud and dirt all over it. There is nothing natural anymore. Everything is either artificial, broken, or contaminated.

Once in a while, I flip through the Time magazines in our house to see what I'm missing out on in the world and everytime, I close the magazines with a heavy heart. There seems to be no dead end to the problems occuring in this world, from city to city, country to country, and continent to continent. I cannot even count how many times I have heard this past year, that the world is coming to an end soon. Thanks to the movie 2012 Doomsday, everyone has become a notch more paranoid than before. To be honest, I don't believe in this phenomenon and if it were true, why should we fear it? Fear won't stop the world from coming to an end, so the least I can do is make the most out my life right now instead of worrying. But the reason why people are starting to bring up discussions about the end of the age is clear- they are realizing the filth and dirt slowly starting to creep in through the cracks. They are admitting that world we're living in is corrupt.

I guess it's safe to say for now that there really is no difference between us and the Sawi tenants. We are fooling no one but ourselves by thinking we are better.

take six.

How did Christianity change this culture?

I don't know how others felt after reading the Peace Child, but I can say for myself that I was left dumbfounded after finishing the book. The love of Christ is so hard for us to grasp. We don't realize until it hits us. God's love for us is waiting just around the corner. All we have to do is reach out for it. That's what the Sawi did. And they received it. It's simply supernatural.

You may be thinking, 'Big deal. Lots of people repent and accept Jesus Christ into their hearts.' But let's stop for a moment and think about who the Sawi were before they met Christ. Headhunters. Cannibals. Monsters. Uncivilized tribe. All these words of negativity are spawned in an instant. The Sawi had utterly nothing to do with Christ. Nothing. The value of treachery and desire for human flesh was embedded so deeply in their hearts that there was no room for the love of God to enter. However, God's love prevails against all evil. Now think about the Sawi after they had accepted Christ into their hearts. All traces of cannibalism and treachery was washed away. People can't just magically transform like that. It takes a supernatural action. And that supernatural force was God's love. They were forever vindicated.

God's love is genuine. It is not crafted.

God is a miracle worker. He loves hiding little surprises here and there for us. When he watches us marvel at His miracles and praise Him, it brings Him exuberating bliss. There are so many treasures He has in store for us. All He needs to do is step back and watch us unravel them one by one at the right time. We are rejuvenated when we run into the arms of God, our loving Father. Christianity changed the Sawi culture by penetrating the stubborn shell of the people with God's love. The old self was gone. The new self was clothed. They were born again.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)

take five.

How does faith relate to the world in which we live?


"Christians, what do you believe?"
"I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His Only Son our Lord..." (Apostle's Creed)

"Life means suffering."
"The origin of suffering is attachment."
"The cessation of suffering is attainable."
"The path to the cessation of suffering."
(Four Noble Truths-Buddhism)

"I believe in God, but not as one thing, not as an old man in the sky. I believe that what people call God is something in all of us. I believe that what Jesus and Mohammed and Buddha and all the rest said was right. It's just that the translations have gone wrong." (John Lennon)

Faith. How could you describe this word? As I am pondering over the vastless list of words running through my mind, I cannot stop to find the word or the phrase to define this five-letter word. People have so many ideas of faith, so many things they believe. However, I see faith as omnifarious, omnipotent, and omnipresent. We cannot see faith, yet we know that it is real. And that's what makes it all the more extraordinary.

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1).

Many people think that faith has to be linked with a religion, something you have to believe in and devote yourself to. But I can name at least 3 examples, off the top of my head, where people display faith regardless of religion. You have faith that when you cross the street, when the walking man on the screen turns green, the cars will stop so you won't get run over. You have faith that when you jump onto your bed, it will be cushiony and padded so you won't break your bones while landing. You have faith that after devoting your precious time making a 20-page biology study guide, you will ace your test tomorrow. Or maybe not. Regardless of the circumstances, faith is all around us. In fact, without faith, our world would not be able to carry on. Faith is the foundation in all relationships that people build upon. It serves as a bridge on which people can share their love and feelings across to each other. Because faith is unseen, sometimes, we want something palpable to assure us of faith. Maybe this is why marriages fall apart, friends go their own ways, and businesses between coworkers fail. People lose their faith in each other, and they find materialistic and substantial things, such as affairs, gossip, and money, as replacements. It reminded me of a famous bible story of a wise and foolish man building their houses upon different foundations. The wise man built his house upon the rock and when the rain fell down, it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock. The foolish man built his house upon the sand and when the rain fell down, it fell with a great crash because it had its foundation upon the sand. Faith is the same as this. It has to be built upon a solid foundation in order for it to last against the storms in life.

Faith has many forms. Omnifarious.

Faith is powerful. Omnipotent.

Faith is everywhere. Omnipresent.

take four.

What reflections and connections can you make with this novel?

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

As a reader, there were many moments where I stopped to think to myself, 'How can these people think in such ways?' They seemed like the most merciless, most cruel, and most monstrous beings that I had ever heard about. Even the thought of eating human flesh sickens me, yet such sickening consumption indulges these people's bloodthirsty craving. Although all mankind is born with a sinful nature, as I read more about the Sawi people, I felt like there was an evil spirit wrapped tightly around their hearts. It was just more than the innate sinful nature of human beings and wrongly set morals. These inhumane acts were not reflecting the image of God, but of the devil. It was not just a matter of teaching an 'uncivilized' tribe that cannibalism was wrong. It was a spiritual warfare that Don Richardson was fighting.

From my experience of living in China, I have personally seen the effect of how outer forces can manipulate people and completely brainwash them. Communism. This single word speaks for itself. The people of China grow up only knowing how to obey the law forced upon them, looking up to it as if is almost a sort of deity. Communism is their religion, their faith, and their identity. It is not them who are controlling their lives, but the government. They have neither freedom of speech nor religion. It's almost like they are puppets being controlled by a puppeteer.

I have seen my parents preach the Gospel to the students they taught, and to me, it was like seeing an adult teach a newborn baby how to walk. The concept that there was a greater force out there, greater than the one that they held on to their whole lives, was incomprehensible. In the same way, it seemed impossible for Don Richardson to get across his message to the Sawi. Even I, as a reader, felt hopeless because of the callous hearts of the Sawi. Language barriers served as a hindrance, but greater than that, was the clash of two different spiritual worlds. How could you teach the concept of love and faith of Christ to people who valued treachery and cannibalism? It would have been impossible to preach the Gospel to the Sawi through the efforts of man; however, it was a work of God that the Sawi were able to open their eyes to the real gospel truth. Once Christ entered the hearts of the Sawi people, they were renewed, and it was amazing to see how they could transform into completely different beings in Christ.

take three.

What concepts in the Sawi culture intrigued/reviled/saddened/angered/surprised you?
Cannibalism- the eating of human flesh by another human being (dictionary.com).

I'm sure every individual who read the Peach Child instinctively felt disgusted at the idea of cannibalism in the Sawi culture, like I did. I felt horrified as I read the revolting descriptions of Yae's death. But above all, what surprised me the most was the Sawi people's value of treachery. Kauwan had been "fattening Yae with friendship" all along and he took pleasure in his atrocity. Even though Yae cried out to Kauwan for help, Kauwan didn't even hesitate for a moment, let alone take back his word. It was difficult for me to perceive the idea of enjoying the act of betraying others, and using people for one's own purposes. In our society, we do not have the notion of valuing treachery, yet we can still see such glimpses. Friends gossip about one another behind each other's backs. Lovers have an affair regardless of having a spouse. However, to value such acts is not the notion we hold.

Cannibalism did not just spontaneously emerge as a tradition, but it rooted from innate sinful nature of human beings, and the more cruel a betrayal was, the more glory a person achieved. The Sawi not only delighted in betraying one another, but also encouraged it, and praised those who would successfully carry out their "mastermind" plans. If I were a Sawi, I would feel paranoid towards everyone, because I wouldn't know who to trust. As I had such emotions, it really made me think, 'Who do these people have to trust?' It was then that I finally saw the big picture. God didn't just send Don Richardson to stop these headhunters and civilize them; He sent Don Richardson to teach the Sawi that there was something so much more valuable than their corrupt beliefs, and that is, the love of Christ.

In the end, because of the grotesqueness of the ideas of the Sawi, it made me realize the beauty of God's grace, and the redemption He offers to everyone. It is similiar to the story, Good Country People. Joy condemns the Christians because of their hypocrisy and uses her intellect as a protection against Christianity. But in the end, she realizes that there is nothing in this world for her, except God. God offers people redemption to people even like Joy and the Sawi. That is the beauty of God's salvation.

take two.

What does Jesus want us to do for the Sawi?

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)

What do you live for? Do you live for an acceptance letter to Harvard or Yale? For fame and success like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs? Or maybe, you really don't have a purpose of living. You're just here because you were born into this world on the day of life's first cry, and you have been living since then. But whether you have a purpose or not, all followers of Christ have a purpose for living- to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth, and help others find the same purpose in life, which is in Christ.

The Sawi are so different from us, from their philosophy to their lifestyle that we cannot understand how they think in such manners or manage to live in such 'uncivilized' ways. It is unheard of for one to value treachery, let alone go hunting for people's heads in our society. It is so easy for us to label the Sawi as uncivilized savages. However, are we not savages also? We abuse God's creation by tainting this world with our sinful nature. Abortion. Drugs. Child labor. Rape. Murder. The problems occuring worldwide from the sin in mankind is endless. We may be advanced in technology, science, and education than the Sawi, but apart from those superificial aspects, we are no better than them. In fact, we may be even more inferior than them; nevertheless, Jesus welcomes us as His children and restores us. Jesus does not want us to help the Sawi physically only, such as aiding them with food, medicine and housing. If that was case, Don Richardson didn't need to be the one who had to travel across half the globe into the forests of Papa New Guineau. It could have been anyone. Anybody could have sent food or antibiotics to the Sawi. However, there was a mission that God had for Don Richardson- to spiritually restore the lives of the Sawi people. This is the same mission given to all Christians. Jesus wants us to go out into the world and preach the Gospel before His coming. That is simply our purpose in life.

Through the Sawi and many more lost souls in the world, we are able to fulfill our commission given to us by Jesus Christ. Instead of thinking, 'What should I do for the Sawi?' we must step outside of our circle of egocentricity and think, 'What does Jesus want me to do for the Sawi, and those who are less fortunate than me?' It all goes back to the famous acronym, W.W.J.D. we've all heard of. What Would Jesus Do?

take one.

What should we do when we are confronted with other cultures?

Reject. That is the instinct inherent in human beings when they are confronted with things different or unfamiliar to them. We reject, ignore, and shove aside anything or anyone that we cannot find a distinctive similiar trait with. Racism is emerged because of the difference of skin color. Wars break out because of escalating differences. In every aspect of our world, we are able to see bits and pieces of rejection because of differences. But why do we reject? It is because we tend to see only the differences that separate us, instead of appreciating the similarities that can harmonize us. All it takes is just a moment to stop and think. We are so focused on the small picture, that it blinds us from seeing the whole picture- the fact that we are all equal, and that every culture roots from the same basis.

Culture itself is an extremely sensitive topic. It's just like abortion or politics. There is no yes or no, no black or white, no right or wrong. It's contorted into a shade of grey, which makes the issue so controversial. When people from different race or background discuss their culture, it can sometimes lead to heated debates and arguments. It only takes one misuse of a word to reverse the current of the dialogue to turn into a violent tide.

Confronting different cultures is not an unfamiliar experience to me since I have encountered three different cultures as I grew up. At times, I have even found my own Korean culture very exotic. There are still some aspects that I find to be very stupid and pointless in Korean culture, for example, how greatly revered adults have to be, how one has to hold his or her chopsticks, or how strange and unheard of it is for girls to play soccer, like I do. Every time I would complain to my parents why Korean culture is this way, I would be chastised. It confused and angered me at first, but I began to see why I was reprimanded. There were times where I felt offended at the critical statements made about Korean culture, whether it was about the horrid smell of kimchi, or about Korean ajummas' paranoia toward their children's education. I realized that the disrespect displayed deeply jabbed me somewhere inside. I realized that the ignorance of an individual towards another's culture could easily anger one. But most of all, I realized that it was important to be even more respectful and appreciative when it came to the point of different cultures meshing with each other.

The Ugly Duckling is an example that came across my mind when I thought about the reactions of people when they view different cultures. We are all the same ducklings in the same pond, but when we see a 'duckling' that is different from us, whether in appearance or personality, we isolate ourselves from that individual. We are all the same human beings put together by flesh and bone, yet we discriminate just because the other person's skin is too dark, or a person's accent is funny, or that another person's eyes are too small like all Asians' eyes are.

Appreciate. Respect. That's all it takes.